PM, SONIA, IN J&K
Good signals, follow-up vital

IT would be all too easy to write off as routine the first visit of the Prime Minister and the UPA chief to Jammu and Kashmir after the Afzal Guru execution. After all, it will be years before the full value of the railway ~ no mean achievement ~ and the power project Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi launched trickle down to the common man. No dramatic promises were made either. Yet the very fact that they went ahead with their scheduled appointments despite militant forays clearly aimed at deterring them should serve to reassure a section of a long-harassed people. The agencies responsible for providing VIP security would surely have been apprehensive of their  going ahead with plans after the attack on the security forces on Monday that took eight lives. The local police would have also had their concerns. While it might be an exaggeration to hail the trip as a “courageous display”, it would be unfair not to recognise that it was a politically sound move. Not only did it give a practical dimension to repeated claims that terrorism would not dictate the agenda, it would have convinced at least some people that New Delhi was prepared to share a little of their prolonged trauma. Never mind if a combination of a hartal-call by the separatists and strict “control” by the security forces kept the turn-out at the functions to moderate levels ~ there was no major attempt at disruptive action. That indeed does say something.
It is also worth noting that Omar Abdullah let his party men press the autonomy question, as he refrained from pushing his AFSPA-withdrawal campaign. Yet since it is important not to be seen as surrendering to “India” he flayed the BJP&’s consistent demand to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution: a subtle way of confirming his Kashmiri credentials. Regretfully it cannot be truthfully said that the Banihal-Qazigund rail link offers a glimpse of “light at the end of the tunnel” in resolving larger issues. Nor will an emphasis on development, employment etc. douse the fires that still burn in Kashmiri hearts. Far too many promises stay unfulfilled, reports/recommendations of various committees remain ignored. Yet the generally favourable reaction to the visit suggests that another opportunity is presenting itself to “do business”. It must not be added to the tally of previous possibilities that were spurned because New Delhi “lives” only for the day.
‘SMILE’ THERAPY
More wind beneath IAF wings

“I WANT to see you smile”. Coming as it did in a scenario of difficulty, danger, and indeed some gloom, that directive from the Chief of the Air Staff might have appeared a trifle strange to those unfamiliar with the military ethos. Yet those six words might well go down in the history of the Indian Air Force as “Charlie Browne&’s” sweetest serenade: for they brought comfort to men who had just lost their mates flying the same missions as they would continue to undertake, inspired them to keep risking their lives to complete a humanitarian task that probably made more demands on their professionalism than their prime role in combat duties. The smile the Air Chief sought was an expression of satisfaction at having attained the highest levels of prowess in stretching the capability of man and machine to the maximum ~ to save the “least” of their countrymen. It may never be known just how many lives were lost in the Uttarakhand calamity, the Indian people should ever be grateful to their ‘faujis’ who preserved many more. And make no mistake about it, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne was including his brothers-in-arms in olive green and khaki, when commending the ongoing rescue efforts ~ possibly the most ambitious (in terms of numbers, terrain and weather) helicopter-led operations of this nature anywhere. It is standard military practice to face difficulty head-on. Should a plane crash the commander of the base from where it had been launched almost always immediately orders another to take-off to prove a point: in sharp contrast to the “civil” practice of grounding all aircraft of the same type should a snag develop.
  The “smile” the Chief wanted was just another manifestation of the spirit underlying the practice of getting another plane airborne at the earliest. The IAF would do well to commission the compilation of a detailed, humane and colourful account of Operation Rahat. Posterity could benefit from it. The defence ministry could also consider striking a special medal to be awarded to all military personnel who participated in the mission. And to digress a little, the faujis at Jolly Grant airport would have had cause for smiles of another kind at seeing rival politicians from Andhra getting into a punch-up trying to pinch some “glory” after the gallantry of the Army, Air Force and ITBP…

PROFLIGACY IN N-E
Rio and Sangma show it

MUKUL SANGMA’S Rs 10-crore office-cum-bungalow, now under renovation, will not be the costliest for any chief minister in the North-east. His Nagaland counterpart, Neiphiu Rio, operates from a palatial complex which reportedly cost the state exchequer a whopping Rs 31.65 crore. That no legislator raised an objection was understandable because every one of them has an eye on the chief minister&’s chair. Rio&’s residential complex is said to have state-of- the-art security arrangements and the ambience of a five-star hotel. According to reports, Sangma&’s new official residence is beautifully landscaped, has 30 rooms, barracks, tennis and badminton courts. Since the general administrative department has justified the expense, arguing that the chief minister needs “a befitting house” to stay in, no questions will be asked. In future there could be a helipad as well. If functioning from such swanky bungalows give Rio and Sangma added impetus for proficiency in governance, no one will grudge it.
While most other chief ministers have their official residences, Assam&’s Tarun Gogoi has been functioning from his modest government guest house in Khanapara ever since assuming office in 2001. North-east states are known for profligacy in the use of public funds. The message implied in the Shillong renovaton extravaganza and from Kohima is clear: what is being spent after all is the Centre&’s ~ and taxpayers’ ~ money and politicians should make hay while the sun shines. A few years ago a Meghalaya politician is said to have fixed expensive gadgets at his official quarters at public expense. After he vacated the house, the gadgets were missing.